Orbballistics and more from Marshmallow Shooters at New York Toy Fair
Vas The Stampede
Find the picture gallery in full here: Marshmallow Shooters at New York Toy Fair 2015
Say what you want about Marshmallow Shooters, other blaster lines have come and gone but they are among one of the constants at New York Toy Fair year after year. Last year the biggest news from them (in my opinion) were the Ghostbuster-themed shooters, they looked great and while they were still functionally the same as previous releases, the line was just in time for the big anniversary of the release of the original film.
This year, it's not a new paint job that piqued my interest, but this new line of blasters from Marshmallow Shooters, the "Orbballistics" as well as the "new" "FoamFury" line. Marshmallow Shooters is now in the business of making reusable foam ammo, as they did have some people who wondered about "wasting food" when it came to using Marshmallow ammo. While this is a concern for me as well, another problem with marshmallow ammo is degradation from heat or reuse. Squishy marshmallows loaded into barrels/hoppers usually meant residue on barrels and plunger heads. Foam ammo makes that less of a problem, thankfully. Based on the technology that they use for the "Orbball", the ammo for the Orbballistics is a hollowed out foam tube that forms kind of a hollowed out oval, something like a grape, or a mini, teeny tiny hollowed out football. I've had some fun with the Classic, Crossbow, Bow, and a variety of other shooters in the past, but the ammo wasn't optimal in the summer and I had to keep mindful about that. Also, never mind the constant consumption of my ammo from other players. Before the round, during the round, after the round, etc. Not entirely unexpected and it was all in good humor, it became the running gag any time one of us used a marshmallow shooter. Thankfully though that also gave me a lot of reasons to make s'mores and rice crispy treats as well!
Marshmallow Shooters is claiming 60' flat on these things (and it might be possible, haven't been able to do the video yet because of technical difficulties but there is one) so that's pretty interesting stuff. Some of the initial comments I've gotten tell me these are similar to the Vortex Koosh blasters from way back, but these are definitely more compact. I didn't have any prices at the time at New York Toy Fair, but they may be available as of 4th quarter, at least in time for the holidays.
As always, if I manage to get any samples I'll be sure to do a review right at this blog. The model I handled was a prototype, so it's way early for me to comment on handling and build strength. At most I can say that it looks sleek, and the ammo holders are always a nice touch. Past that, I am always looking forward to seeing new challengers to the foam arena.
Besides the Orbballistics, Marshmallow Shooters had "FoamFury" which is their classic shooter now firing foam "ear plug" like ammo. 20' of range, so while made for a quick release definitely not what one can expect from the Orbballistics shooters. Also, there were "Varmint Series" blasters which look hilarious. Pics of these and more can be found in the gallery.
So, thoughts? Another (this time foam) solution from Marshmallow Shooters, with more range than the original shooters and with reusable ammo. Is this something you would try out? Would you qualify it as large ammo if your games use those rules? Comment below, and let me know!
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Labels: blaster, gadget, gear, Marshmallow shooter, non-nerf, orbballistics, play, shooter, tech, tf15, tfny, toy, toy fair, toy fair 2015, varmint
